My Nima portable gluten checker has arrived!

I have been waiting since before Christmas for this little portable checker to find its way to me from America. They don’t yet sell it internationally, so when I initially signed up and realised I couldn’t have it I was so disappointed! BUT thank god for mums. My mum knew a guy at work who knew a guy in America, so we used his postal address – very kind of him.

It finally arrived on Friday, I was actually crying picking it up from my neighbour, who barely knows me so it was all a bit awkward, ha! I took it for a test drive to lunch on Saturday and tested it in one of The Lounges restaurants in Liverpool called Brasco. I already feel fairly safe here, it’s really the only place I eat at on the odd occasion I venture outside of my kitchen! Even though they have an entire gluten-free menu to choose from, I’m always tight-chested when eating their just in case there’s a mix up in the kitchen (there has never been) but as soon as the waiter is on this way back over to the table my mind races – he’s obviously coming over to tell me there’s been a mix-up. Again, this has never happened.

The Nima Sensor comes with a sleek triangular case and a pod that slots into the triangle, this pod is where the food to be tested sits. Each pod is to be used only once, so if you eat at restaurants or cook with ingredients you don’t know very often, the pod replenishments can get rather expensive. But it’s worth it, isn’t it? It is for me anyway – I am highly sensitive to cross-contamination, so for me, it’s life-changing.

Nima has created many how-to guides, videos and infographics for the user, so it’s really straightforward when learning how to use it for the first time. The Sensor is designed to pick up anything above 20ppm of gluten – the safe amount for coeliacs. The device displays a smiley face when the food is safe to eat, and one grain displayed if there’s low gluten detected, or two grains if the dish has detected a high level of gluten. Obviously, anything but a smiley face needs to be re-cooked and thrown away if you’re coeliac.

Not only will this mean I can go out and enjoy trying new foods and explore new places, but it also means I can attend family events including weddings and Christmas dinners. I just can’t wait to explore more places and enjoy my food outside of my kitchen!